House Bill 2035e1

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                                          HB 2035, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to postsecondary education;

  3         amending s. 240.2605, F.S., relating to the

  4         Trust Fund for Major Gifts; revising matching

  5         requirements for receipt of funds from the

  6         trust fund; providing matching level for

  7         donations received before July 1, 2000;

  8         providing matching levels for gift agreements

  9         signed and received by July 1, 1999; providing

10         separate matching requirements for universities

11         endowing two-plus-two scholarships with

12         community colleges; deleting provisions

13         authorizing or requiring encumbrance of state

14         matching funds for challenge grants; deleting a

15         provision requiring university presidents to

16         list donations from private donors for specific

17         types of donations for the 1999-2000 fiscal

18         year only; providing an effective date.

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20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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22         Section 1.  Section 240.2605, Florida Statutes, is

23  amended to read:

24         240.2605  Trust Fund for Major Gifts.--

25         (1)  There is established a Trust Fund for Major Gifts.

26  The purpose of the trust fund is to enable the Board of

27  Regents Foundation, each university, and New College to

28  provide donors with an incentive in the form of matching

29  grants for donations for the establishment of permanent

30  endowments, which must be invested, with the proceeds of the

31  investment used to support libraries and instruction and


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                                          HB 2035, First Engrossed



  1  research programs, as defined by procedure of the Board of

  2  Regents. All funds appropriated for the challenge grants, new

  3  donors, major gifts, or eminent scholars program must be

  4  deposited into the trust fund and invested pursuant to s.

  5  18.125 until the Board of Regents allocates the funds to

  6  universities to match private donations. Notwithstanding s.

  7  216.301 and pursuant to s. 216.351, any undisbursed balance

  8  remaining in the trust fund and interest income accruing to

  9  the portion of the trust fund which is not matched and

10  distributed to universities must remain in the trust fund and

11  be used to increase the total funds available for challenge

12  grants. The Board of Regents may authorize any university to

13  encumber the state matching portion of a challenge grant from

14  funds available under s. 240.272.

15         (2)  The Board of Regents shall specify the process for

16  submission, documentation, and approval of requests for

17  matching funds, accountability for endowments and proceeds of

18  endowments, allocations to universities, restrictions on the

19  use of the proceeds from endowments, and criteria used in

20  determining the value of donations.

21         (3)(a)  The Board of Regents shall allocate the amount

22  appropriated to the trust fund to the Board of Regents

23  Foundation, each university, and New College based on the

24  amount of the donation and the restrictions applied to the

25  donation.

26         (b)  Donations for a specific purpose must be matched

27  in the following manner:

28         1.  The Board of Regents Foundation and each university

29  that raises at least $100,000 but no more than $999,999

30  $599,999 from a private source must receive a matching grant

31  equal to 50 percent of the private contribution.


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                                          HB 2035, First Engrossed



  1         2.  The Board of Regents Foundation and each university

  2  that raises a contribution of at least $600,000 but no more

  3  than $1 million from a private source must receive a matching

  4  grant equal to 70 percent of the private contribution.

  5         2.3.  The Board of Regents Foundation and each

  6  university that raises a contribution equal to or in excess of

  7  $1 million but no more than $2,999,999 $1.5 million from a

  8  private source must receive a matching grant equal to 60 75

  9  percent of the private contribution.

10         4.  The Board of Regents Foundation and each university

11  that raises a contribution in excess of $1.5 million but no

12  more than $2 million from a private source must receive a

13  matching grant equal to 80 percent of the private

14  contribution.

15         3.5.  The Board of Regents Foundation and each

16  university that raises a contribution equal to or in excess of

17  $3 $2 million from a private source must receive a matching

18  grant equal to 85 100 percent of the private contribution.

19         4.  Donations received before July 1, 2000, shall be

20  matched at the percentage level in effect on the date the gift

21  was received. Any gift agreements signed and received by July

22  1, 1999 that were approved for payment over a period of up to

23  five years would be eligible for the level of match in effect

24  when the agreement was received and initial payment was made.

25         5.  The amount of matching funds used to match a single

26  gift in any given year shall be limited to $3 million. The

27  total amount of matching funds available for any single gift

28  shall be limited to $15 million, to be distributed in equal

29  amounts of $3 million per year over a period of 5 years,

30  subject to the availability of funds.

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                                          HB 2035, First Engrossed



  1         (c)  Notwithstanding subparagraphs (b)1.-3., if a

  2  university seeking matching funds under this section and a

  3  community college seeking matching funds under s. 240.36

  4  jointly endow a two-plus-two scholarship, the university shall

  5  receive matching funds on the same basis as the community

  6  college under s. 240.36(3). To be eligible for matching funds

  7  under this paragraph, the notification of receipt and deposit

  8  of private contributions for such purpose must be submitted

  9  jointly by a community college and a state university in

10  increments of $50,000, consisting of $30,000 to the university

11  from a single donor and $20,000 to the community college, with

12  a maximum of 50 scholarships per year being eligible for a

13  match. Five scholarships per year shall be reserved for each

14  state university until March 1, at which time any unmatched

15  funds shall be made available to universities and community

16  colleges under procedures established by the Board of Regents

17  and the State Board of Community Colleges.

18         (c)  The Board of Regents shall encumber state matching

19  funds for any pledged contributions, pro rata, based on the

20  requirements for state matching funds as specified for the

21  particular challenge grant and the amount of the private

22  donations actually received by the university or Board of

23  Regents Foundation for the respective challenge grant.

24         (4)  Matching funds may be provided for contributions

25  encumbered or pledged under the Florida Endowment Trust Fund

26  for Eminent Scholars Act prior to July 1, 1994, and for

27  donations or pledges of any amount equal to or in excess of

28  the prescribed minimums which are pledged for the purpose of

29  this section.

30         (5)(a)  The Board of Regents Foundation, each

31  university foundation, and New College Foundation shall


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                                          HB 2035, First Engrossed



  1  establish a challenge grant account for each challenge grant

  2  as a depository for private contributions and state matching

  3  funds to be administered on behalf of the Board of Regents,

  4  the university, or New College. State matching funds must be

  5  transferred to a university foundation or New College

  6  Foundation upon notification that the university or New

  7  College has received and deposited the amount specified in

  8  this section in a foundation challenge grant account.

  9         (b)  The foundation serving a university and New

10  College Foundation each has the responsibility for the

11  maintenance and investment of its challenge grant account and

12  for the administration of the program on behalf of the

13  university or New College, pursuant to procedures specified by

14  the Board of Regents. Each foundation shall include in its

15  annual report to the Board of Regents information concerning

16  collection and investment of matching gifts and donations and

17  investment of the account.

18         (c)  A donation of at least $600,000 and associated

19  state matching funds may be used to designate an Eminent

20  Scholar Endowed Chair pursuant to procedures specified by the

21  Board of Regents.

22         (6)  The donations, state matching funds, or proceeds

23  from endowments established under this section may not be

24  expended for the construction, renovation, or maintenance of

25  facilities or for the support of intercollegiate athletics.

26         (7)  The Board of Regents Foundation may participate in

27  the same manner as a university foundation with regard to the

28  provisions of this section.

29         (8)  Notwithstanding other provisions of this section,

30  for the 1999-2000 fiscal year only, for gifts received during

31  this period, the university presidents shall provide a list of


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                                          HB 2035, First Engrossed



  1  donations from private donors for challenge grants, new

  2  donations, major gifts, and the eminent scholars program to be

  3  matched for the 1999-2000 fiscal year to the Board of Regents.

  4  The listing shall contain an explanation of the donation, a

  5  statement of the specific benefits accrued to the university

  6  as a result of the donation, and how the donation is

  7  consistent with the mission of the institution, as defined by

  8  the Board of Regents in the 1998-2003 Strategic Plan.

  9  University presidents shall rank each private donation to

10  their university, giving highest priority to private donations

11  that provide additional library resources to universities;

12  donations that provide student assistance through

13  scholarships, fellowships, or assistantships; donations that

14  provide funding for existing academic programs at

15  universities; and donations that meet the matching requirement

16  without encumbering pledges. The Board of Regents, using the

17  same criteria, shall develop a systemwide priority list and

18  may set restrictions on the annual amount of matching funds

19  provided for single donations that exceed $5 million.

20         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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